ALAN MULHERN: The Quest & Psychotherapy (Jungian Approach to Healing)

The opening movement of Beethoven's 3rd is the first stage of the hero's journey – struggle and victory. The hero myth has many variations in its death and resurrection themes. Mythologically it involves the bringing of new consciousness to humanity.  It therefore represents in Beethoven’s day the revolts, insurrections and revolutions that were emerging in Europe and its colonies. However, Beethoven is tapping into an archetypal structure and therefore this music is as relevant now as it was then. For we too, in the contemporary age, live in a civilization in crisis and transition where radical change needs to be fought for. Individuals also seek their own renewal which is partially an independent activity, something, in the inner world – it’s not exactly a programme but an archetype, a template of immense possibility deep in the psyche. At its core the 3rd symphony demonstrates this within a death and rebirth archetype that takes music into the Romantic period and places the individual's relation to the sublime or transcendent at the centre of consciousness. This is the first of three podcasts on Beethoven's 3rd symphony.  Thanks to the BBC radio 3 recording 2005 of Beethoven’s 3rd symphony and made available on the Internet Archive on a Creative Commons label. All musical extracts in these podcasts taken from that source.   https://archive.org/details/BBCSymphony3Beethoven_1

Beethoven’s music put the struggle of the individual, the agony and ecstatic flight, at the centre of the performance. Music in his hands was being reshaped forming a new stage of human consciousness. This is the journey of the hero – hence the title: the Eroica. It may start with Napoleon and the politics of the day, it proceeds through the individual struggle of the greatest living composer rapidly going deaf and faced with suicide; but it then reaches out to the archetypal and transcendent. The second movement, our topic in this episode, begins with the famous funeral march - the world’s greatest? Beethoven’s second movement divides in two parts – the death of the hero and the experience of 'resurrection'. The funeral march can then be thought of a descent into a symbolic death (depression, stagnation, loss, trauma and so on), which in this movement, amazingly, has a turning point and a rebirth. Thanks to the BBC radio 3 recording of Beethoven’s 3rd symphony 2005 and made available on the Internet Archive on a Creative Commons label. All musical extracts in these podcasts taken from that source.    https://archive.org/details/BBCSymphony3Beethoven_1

The heroic is the process by which our consciousness emerges and is transformed to higher levels. The hero in each of us is our struggle with the darkness and our efforts at rebirth. So too in civilisations, at the collective level, the heroic requires courage, vision and sacrifice which allow civilisations to be born, as well as to face their crises and be reborn. However, many civilisations have not been able to overcome their challenges and they have become extinct.  Hero myths are some of the oldest stories we have. The story of Osiris’ death at the hand of his brother Seth is probably the most dramatic and was retold across thousand of years of Egyptian history. The battle between the forces of light and darkness symbolises the inner state of mankind, the nature of our psyche. The forces of order, the creative principles that have fashioned the existence of not only life but the human psyche, are threatened by chaos and destructiveness. The underlying philosophy upon which these podcasts are based is in the following book and can be obtained at the link below: The Sower and the Seed Reflections on the Development of Consciousness (Karnac Books 2015) https://rb.gy/xmvpjq  

  Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to something and tell me what I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a just messenger." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say what you are like." Jesus said​, "I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended." And he took him, and withdrew, and spoke three sayings to him. When Thomas came back to his friends they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the sayings he spoke to me, you will pick up rocks and stone me, and fire will come from the rocks and devour you" The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas

The Archetypal Core and the Historical Conjuncture are presented as our underlying methodology. The resurrection story is explored as a myth, that is, an archetype flowing from the core and manifesting in a particular historical epoch. Those who lived out the myth, the apostles for example, tended to experience it though the historical lens they were given but nevertheless experienced the core sufficiently to transform history. The gospel of Thomas the Gnostic says: And his disciples said to him, "Show us the place where you are, since it is necessary for us to seek it." He said to them, "Whoever has ears, let him hear. There is light within a man of light, and he lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, he is darkness."

Christ has a changing image over time. The first is that of holy man, the curer of the sick, an exorcist of devils, the worker of miracles, and he who demonstrates the soul. This second image rapidly moves to that of a prophet, as in the line of Old Testament prophets – an elevation of his status. The third image is an even greater elevation to that of the chief prophet, the messiah himself, the anointed one, from the house of David who is still a human being, but has come to rebuild the temple and bring the Jewish religious authorities and the Jewish people back to their true god. This image and role is both religious and political. So far we are in the Jewish traditions. The fourth image steps outside of this Jewish framework and the Christian writers of the Gospels elevate Jesus to the son of the Father, the son of god, and the route to the father who is heaven. By now the Christians have their eye on the lands outside of Judea, and their mission is  to the peoples of the Roman empire and perhaps even beyond. A universalist vision is to take hold of Christianity.  But this comes next in our story. There is also an introduction to the next podcast in two weeks time, March 21 2020 - the emerging economic and financial crisis of our time.  Reference: Tanakh - The Hebrew Bible - Ketuvim - Scriptures - Psalm 22 https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16243/jewish/Chapter-22.htm   References from Gospels using Psalm 22: Verse 1, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", is quoted in Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46[16] Verse 7, "They hurl insults, shaking their heads", is quoted in Mark 15:29; Matthew 27:39[16] Verse 8, "He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him", is quoted in Matthew 27:43[16] Verse 18, "They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment", is quoted in Mark 15:24; Matthew 27:35; Luke 23:34; John 19:24[16]

Our species is sleepwalking to the edge of a precipice. Awaken I do not believe there is any easy escape from the multiple crises that are now unfolding and anyway if by some miracle we returned to business as usual we would only move onto another crisis of greater magnitude. That is the evidence of our history and certainly our economic system. However I am a psychotherapist and someone deeply respectful of the world's spiritual traditions and it is a common observation that individuals change most when they can face their traumas fully and honestly and harness the energies to effect fundamental change. The same applies to the collective in this series of crises that are unfolding. By facing not only our own shadow and self-made traumas, but also those traumas we have inflicted on others, the earth, animals of all descriptions – the trauma and killing we have inflicted on this incredibly beautiful and miraculous life that we have been so privileged to have been given, only by facing this, acknowledging it, feeling it, can we begin the process of change. However, the likelihood of extreme, radical parties taking over in the near future is very high since the poltical centre that we have known will dissappear as the crisis mounts. .  "And like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself— Yea, all which it inherit—shall dissolve, And like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep." Shakespeare, The Tempest. Act 4 Sc1.  

We further examine the evolving crises of our times and argue that a renewed spiritual and moral vision fit-for-purpose in the 21st century is urgently required.  This is our moment of Truth. This is what the evolution of life and consciousness on this planet have led to after billions of years. Unless we meet it with the Truth we face the exit door.

The world's leaders, both in the political and economic spheres, have failed in any preparation for this curent health crisis which is morphing into a Great Global Depression which will utterly change our political and social landscape. Previous declarations of the Quest Series concerning the multiple crises that are to unfold in the 21st century - the horeseman of the apocalyse and the like - might have been thought of as hyperbole. I think that view may now well be changing. This present crisis is of the greatest seriousness but transformation is just possible. The human race must pass through deep trauma and then a chance might emerge. The potential transformation will necessarily have deep spiritual elements informing it throughout, and reason and science should be subordinate to that vision. There is no guarantee of the outcome of this process. There is no inevitable happy ending. The human race has no guardian angels or gods that necessarily see them through this. It does however have immense help if visionary material is accessed. Once the spiritual eye is opened then transformation is possible, a renewed personal and world vision may occur. There is a narrow door of opportunity. The Quest is committed to that possibility. The difficult journey, the descent, has to be undertaken so this opportunity arises. No matter how dark the vision is at times it is the light of the transformation possibility that is the raison d’etre of the Quest Series.    

The fault lines of the world economy are explained and these are the fractures that are opening in the Great Global Depression we are now entering. These existed before the Corona Virus which is the detonator of the inflated global economic and financial structure. The virus is serious enough but the origins of the multiple crises that are upon us were not caused by Covid 19. A virus feeds and grows upon the weakness of the host. This episode explores the demonic in our species. I don’t believe that the human race is principally or only demonic rather that humans are divided into opposites of light and dark. The dark has the demonic as one of its possibilities while the light is that which seeks healing, growth, and which transcends the realm of the ego and its selfish, animal desires and obsessions, and embraces life itself, the good. Humans are split between these two positions which are intimately linked. This drama is currently being played out in our economic and political systems which are also posssessed by these forces.  Such a conflict of opposites comes into focus in every age of crisis and, like the crises of past ages, ours too may re-birth a spiritual vision, if it confronts its darkness and embraces a new vision, the light. For this it needs not only sound argument and science, but a spiritual and moral vision and experience from the depths of the psyche. It needs to have its vision renewed, to have the doors of perception cleansed. In other words this is the crisis of the 21st century – that we are possessed by forces we can call demonic which are driving to destruction. It is not enough that we just see our shadow, and know our darkness, it is necessary to seek the light which gives birth to new vision - - the rebirth. Out of the spiritual crisis, only when fully experienced, can there be a rebirth of the current age. All the evidence however points to the great difficulty of human beings voluntarily doing this, so I consider, that it will only be via the hard path, that of trauma and suffering, that this may occur.

These podcasts explore the evolving crises of the 21st century. The Virus pandemic, extremely serious though it is, has revealed the fracture lines of the world economy. We have a series of crises, and if we wish to understand more of the world we have created we have to understand them in their interacting totality – i.e. as a system. As the podcast series progresses we will examine these dimensions, which we also call the horseman of the Apocalypse. Apocalypse comes from the Greek word meaning to reveal. It is also, in the bible, associated with the idea of a great judgement and end times, It is only by this means of a spiritual awakening that a new vision can emerge that can save us. There has to be a spiritual rebirth because mankind’s reason cannot solve the crises in front of us. The term apocalyptic is therefore appropriate to describe our age. We will approach this final horseman, the spiritual crisis, slowly and with great caution for there is no telling the hour or the manner of its coming

Ten interacting crises are described; long term economic problems of American society outlined; apocalypse means the revealing, the unveiling in ancient Greek. Thus, in these times, as the crises intensify, the fissures of societies and civilisations (race, religion, class, gender) come to the surface and reveal themselves as open wounds. Spiritual growth is required. Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world …. The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. W.B.Yeats

My wake-up call in March 2020 was that this unfolding series of crises, long in the making, had already passed its tipping point. The house of cards was already falling. What has happened since then is that most major economies have covered up and disguised the economic and financial crisis by creating vast debt and money creation and pretending this is fine, pretending they are in charge. But they are merely postponing the crisis while it becomes larger. Accordingly, I have said clearly that a Great Global Depression has already begun and that the financial crisis is unfolding in front of us. I have given a road-map in episodes 27 and 30 which outlined the stages of the crisis – the sequence and timing could be different but all stages will be experienced.  I described in episodes 27 and 30 the great fault lines in the world system in the decade leading up to 2010 and have called the different parts of the multidimensional crises the 10 horseman of the Apocalypse because they will take humanity to the brink of extinction and constitute a great unveiling or revelation. So beyond the economic, health and financial we have a number of dimensions that stretch all the way to the conflict of ideas of our times and the spiritual crises, besides the ones that are glaringly more obvious such as the climatic and the military. Less obvious is the crisis of our subservience to technology especially as human nature itself is becoming profoundly altered by this force, one might say this is the god that we worship. We simply are incapable of resisting it, questioning it, or putting any ethical dimension around it. It is shaping us. We are not in control of it. This episode continues with the poetry readings from the last part of The Sower and the Seed (2015) which via the metaphors of the pilgrimage and  mountain ascent tell the archetypal story (the myth) of spiritual transformation. No matter what the crisis this is always available to us. Illumination and gnosis are triggered by suffering and an inherent, built-in impulse of the psyche.

I am a psychotherapist with an interest not only in the individual psyche but also that of the collective. The malaise of civilization has become increasingly my focus in these podcasts; the evolving multidimensional crises of the 21st century is my backdrop; the ten horseman (or crises) of the apocalypse are the drivers of my argument. These are the economic, political, climatic, military, technological, spiritual, clash of ideas, pandemic, financial, and social. I have suggested a road map of the evolving crises: 1. Approaching storm; 2. Storm hits; 3. Policy response; 4 Economic and financial chaos;  5. Great Global Depression; 6 Civil disturbance, political radicalism, dangers of war; 7 Fallout and emergence in a radically changed world. We are now passing from stage 3 to 4. Immense money creation and government intervention can postpone the crisis but only intensify it later.  Yet visionary responses are possible. These begin with a reorientation of consciousness outside the ego. The poem The Sower and the Seed  is presented as an example. Its subject is the formulation of a creation mythology which is always the foundation of a radical paradigm change, in this case from a materialist to a spiritual cosmic view, which is the essence of the pilgrim's quest. 

Why do I juxtapose economic and financial theory, policy and practice on the one hand, and spiritual matters on the other. The answer is that it is only in theory and specialisms that such things are separated. In practice the human psyche consists of many parts, but it is a fundamental drive within us to unify them, to make ourselves whole instead of being conflicting parts. At first glance economic and monetary policy along with poetry and mysticism seem strange bedfellows. But I am suggesting more than this – that the evolving emergencies have at least ten dimensions – and undoubtedly many more. I am suggesting a multi-dimenional crisis. Never with more urgency do we need a spiritual vision of the planet, which unites economics politics, climate, our treatment of all life and so on. On a purely practical note, we need to put spirit and ethical values into the economy and our political system and our relationship to nature. Our philosophies, theories, specialism and knowledge systems have been tremendously creative but unless there is a radical paradigm shift our species will be profoundly self-traumatised and possibly extinguished. Since we bear responsibility for all life on earth and now, we realise, for the planet itself, this is the moment of our truth.

The core problem of the European Union lies in its economic arrangements that, should they not be modified, will probably break apart the union as we currently know it. As well as the deep differences between EU member states there is a lack of economic flexibility that arises from adopting a common currency. The rigid maintenance of the Euro with the absence of flexible exchange rates plus the escalating debts of the union will undermine its coherence, lead to the downfall of the Euro, and provoke a severe banking crisis which will go global and endanger the Union. Division in the EU has sharpened. Thus, the EU leaders are caught between a rock and hard place. On the one hand, as countries enter into economic crises, there is threat of the break up of the union and the destruction of the European dream, the great project. A banking crisis would be sure to follow as debts are reneged upon and the lending banks collapse triggering a global financial crisis. On the other hand, the opposite: the road of federalisation, the defence of the Euro,  and the placating of weaker member states. The issuing of a common European debt is a milestone on this path.

The EU engaged in a exaggerated expansion of its membership. It now creates vast debts in an attempt to bail out States, banks, and even economies. It seems a titanic enterprise. Umm, titanic? The very word strikes an ominous chord in trauma memory. Back in 1912 it was asked how the Titanic, the largest passenger ship of its day, could be sunk by an iceberg. Monetary policy, with its exploding debts and money creations, could well be the iceberg that sinks the European Union. The general problems of the EU, both external and internal are covered.   The monetary policies of the ECB since the 2008 crash are presented as a series of errors; These policies are desperate attempts to cover up the depths of the crisis and have led the Eurozone on the path of ruin. Only by understanding these polices as defensive and desperate manoeuvres of dubious legality, will one see the seriousness of the situation the EU is facing. And finally the latest stages of capitalism with respect to the balance between free markets and the State are examined.  

The productive forces of the capitalism are immense and without precedent. The continually reshape the relationship between world powers, countries, regions, cities, classes, and individuals.  It also has inherent, inbuilt  tendencies towards crises and even collapse. As well as its transformative power these weaknesess are enumerated briefly in this episode. Yet for all its creativity this power is also demonic and life-destroying. From Eden cast in fallen state, To world of death condemned, Both Eve and Adam tears did shed, This paradise must end. Banished into endless toil,  

The changes in consciousness engendered by capitalism are outlined. But there is also a light of new vision in the modern age that seems as nothing as compared with the vast forces of global economic development, finance, industrialization, and information technology. These forces that have produced the contemporary alienated, rationalised, increasingly digitalised human being are currently reshaping humanity so that it is even further removed from nature  and seem overwhelming. Yet history shows us that vast changes in consciousness begin like a small light, a vision glimpsed by few, but increasingly felt by many.There is an emerging vision in the modern age which amazingly has been nurtured out of science itself, that sees the universe as alive and pregnant with meaning and consciousness, that sees nature as holy, that sees the human being as part of a spiritual development out of matter towards higher consciousness, that opposes the forces that are destroying us. Only by such visionary consciousness will we emerge from the precarious ledge we are balanced upon and move upwards to the next stage of our evolution.

An extensive list is explored  of the changes in consciousness brought about by the development of capitalism. This includes:The removal from nature. A material view of the world.  The increasingly rational and economic viewpoint. The abandonment of the religious outlook.  More individualism, less individuation.  An economic view of societal relationships.  A legalistic view of relationships.  Rational and bureaucratic systems of control.  Specialisation but fragmentation of knowledge.  Dominance of money relationships.  Greater education.  Wealth creation and enjoyment.  A vast increase in consumerism.  The impact of property ownership.  Technological reliance.  Greater freedom.  A change in the nature of the repressive apparatus within the collective psyche. Increasing dominance of the conscious over the unconscious.  Disenchantment and loss of soul. Nature is viewed as a completely exploitable resource.  The movement to a de-gendered human being. Informational capitalism – in which the consciousness of humanity is becoming fused with digital and virtual realities. The rise of artificial intelligence and the alteration of human nature.

In today’s episode I have decided to do something rather different. I have chosen a mythic individual at the start of Chinese history, the Yellow Emperor, and have constructed a poem using the story of  his retreat to the Mountains of the West in search of enlightenment at the feet of the sage Guangchengzi. This is one of the earliest stories we have of the search for spiritual illumination and its impact not just on an individual but on the collective which was in deep discord. I believe such a story, myth, or archetype is right for our time. The literary sources for Taoist philosophy are taken from The Secret of the Golden Flower, a book of great importance to Jung. There are also references in the poem to the I Ching, the Book of Changes.

The pause button has been pressed on the economic and financial crisis with the rocketing debts of many nations which by trading current stabilty against future danger will lead to a mighty financial collapse. Civilization decline in the West is explored in the Romantic poetry of the 19th century. The causes of the current pandemic are presented as the consequences of a  fundamental disconnection and unprecedented attack upon nature.

The Economic Crisis, the next horseman of the apocalypse,  is updated and explained. We are currently in a  pause as the underlying malaise is disguised by money creations and bail outs. But this only postpones and augments the crisis to come. # The post 2007/8 Global Financial Crash led to a new stage of capitalism in which massive government intervention in the financial system became the new paradigm # This was accomplished through cheap and abundant money, propping up of the financial system at all costs. # Moral hazard has increased enormously # Zombified companies have saturated the economy. # Stock markets have become disconnected fro the real economy # Inflation in asset and housing prices have been typical of many counties. # Increasing inequality # Paralysed or declining productivity growth rates # Astronomical and un-payable national debts which are ruinous for the future # Price discovery, the essence of the free market system has been substantially eroded   Useful links for this episode: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?end=2019&start=1973 https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/publication/global-productivity  

Firstly. some key terminology is explained, such as Financialization, Quantitative Easing, Moral Hazard, Price discovery, Gosbankification, Zombies, Gales of Creative Destruction, The Danger of Debt. Secondly, a coherent narrative is given that is comprehensible to non-specialists concerning the recent history and likely future development of this financial crisis. It will also be of interest to those who have had a training in economics and finance since much of this does not prepare for this financial crisis at all. Finally, this episode explores the emerging role of Central Bank Digital Currencies which will be key to reshaping the world financial order in the immediate future.

Financial collapses have been at the heart of all major economic crises of capitalism and examples from the 1890s and 1990s are given, observing that they are growing in intensity and frequency. Examples from early presidents of the United States, Jefferson and Jackson, are given,  both of whom spoke loudly against banking interests believing that they were inimical to democracy. It is argued that financial crises have been severe since the deregulation of the banking system in the 1980s and 1990s. Since the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 things have gone from bad to worse. The present situation is that the major economies are not only hiding their chronic economic difficulties behind a financial façade of money creation and debt, they are also hiding their financial chaos and instability behind the same façade. You may ask then where is this infamous financial crisis that is so feared. The answer should be no surprise by now. We are already in it and have been so for a long time but its full force is yet to be revealed.

Of the ten horsemen of the apocalypse,  the pandemic, the financial and economic crises have been described. The technological crisis is now examined, in particular the relationship between technology and our consciousness, a matter of enormous importance to our own age. This and the following episode will have a number of items for exploration. Hominids that existed long before our species (Homo sapiens) and their technologies Early humanity and its technology The Agricultural Revolution Capitalism, the most technological of all economic system thus far in our history The contemporary conjecture, our point in time, where we stand on the edge of a transition which is almost incomprehensible, the extinction or transformation of human nature. Technology is and has always been deeply entwined with our consciousness and our human nature. They are systemically intertwined, mutually influencing, catalytically interconnected.

This episode considers our emergence as a species and the deep entanglement with technology from the beginning especially its interaction with the changing genetic structure and therefore with developing consciousness of the homo genus or lineage. Technologies also alter human identity by deeply influencing the psychology of distinct periods of the history of civilizations.

This episode outlines the thoughts of two major thinker on the subject of Technology and Consciousness. Firstly, Marshall McLuhan, a prophet of technology of the 1960s. who argues that technologies profoundly change our consciousness. Secondly, Iain Mcgilchrist, the author of The Master and his Emissary. An account of the different hemispheres of the brain is given and their impact on the changing nature of consciousness during the development of civilizations. Especial emphasis is placed in this episode on the connection between technology and the left hemisphere and the impact of this one-sided development.

En este episodio vamos a enfatizar el impacto personal del gnosticismo sobre Jung. Lo haremos a través de su escrito llamado: los Siete Sermones a los Muertos. Es este un texto sumamente personal y esotérico. Nuestro argumento es el siguiente: Jung experimentó una iniciación en su confrontación con el inconsciente; fue el espíritu gnóstico y la voz gnóstica lo que lo poseyó en su descenso durante los años 1913-1917. Los gnósticos vivían una tradición mística muy poderosa y tenían diversas ideas metafísicas y mitológicas que formaban un puente hacia los aspectos transpersonales de la psicología analítica. También su influencia personal sobre Jung fue inmensa, ya que él experimentó la gnosis a través de su espíritu.

Five articles and reports from very traditional and respected sources are examined. They all point to the extreme seriousness of the economic, financial, pandemic, and climatic crises that are upon us. These articles  are: Ruchir Sharma, “The two big reasons to doubt the global boom”. FT. 19th July 2021 Tuomas Malinen: “Inflation is here to stay, and it should worry everyone”. GNS blog: 15 July 2021 Martin Wolf “Why further financial crises are inevitable”. FT. March 19. 2019 Martin Wolf “The G20 has failed to meet its challenges”. FT. 13 July 2021 The Office of Budget Responsibility for the UK. Fiscal Risks Report to Parliament, July 2021  

First in a series on the contemporary spiritual crisis, this episode outlines the collective and individual dimensions of this crisis. It explains the metaphysical  position and personal experiences underlying this series. It ends with a poem from The Sower and the Seed entitled The Goal of Humankind.

This episode examines the two major economic paradigms of Laissez Faire capitalism on the one hand and the command economy on the other typified by the early communist experiments in Russia and China. It will point to the dangers of extreme Laissez Faire capitalism and also to the central reasons why a communist command cannot work. It will also explore the decline of religion and spirituality under both these systems.

We begin by examining the impact of Taoism, especially with respect to the influence of the Taoist book the Secret of the Golden Flower upon Carl Jung and his school of Analytical Psychology. We continue by considering modern China with a focus on Taoism which is one of its indigenous religions. What happens in this country is of immense importance not only for its size (over 1/6th of the world population) but also because of its growing importance. 

Este episodio examina al menos 15 puntos muy similares entre el taoísmo y la psicología junguiana, por ejemplo: Para los taoístas la "acción por non-acción" es para el psicólogo profundo occidental la liberación interna del dominio cognitivo; la importancia de lo femenino en ambas tradiciones; la “circulación de la luz” le recordó a Jung el camino circular hacia el centro, el camino hacia el ser superior; el movimiento circular tiene también el significado de la auto-incubación; las referencias al lado más oscuro en terminología junguiana está cerca de la concepción de la sombra; la creencia taoísta de que se podía lograr un estado iluminador encontraría su equivalente en el concepto de Jung de la experiencia del Ser. Numerosas referencias al símbolo del mandala en el texto resuenan con la creciente fascinación de Jung por el símbolo del Self. En el seguno parte del episodio examinamos el estado de taoísmo y otra religiones en la China moderna.  

The three most significant events in the history of life on earth are discussed: the emergence of life, consciousness, and self-consciousness. Science has no explanation of how these came into being. This appears to be an enormous problem which no amount of evasion can explain away. The crisis of the Self is at the centre of the crisis of modern times.

While the precursors of our consciousness lie in our animal and hominid evolutionary past its origins are in the intelligence of life itself and beyond that in the intelligence of the cosmos. This viewpoint requires a paradigm shift away from a dead and mechanistic universe in which the emergence of life and consciousness are accidents. The alternative vision is that the cosmos is intelligence or spirit itself and has an ordering principle or logos. Matter is no longer primary but coexistent with spirit. Intelligence precedes Homo sapiens, primates and indeed all life forms. It is woven into the cosmos and the emergence of life and consciousness are the expression of it as indeed is its evolution into higher forms. From a materialist view human consciousness is ultimately inexplicable. From the metaphysical perspective of immanence it is quite different: human consciousness is the living spirit of the universe.

The first four components of our evolved human nature are outlined. These are: Animal inheritance which is not just our aggressive and sexual impulses (the id) but the inherited reservoir of evolved genetic intelligence. Emotional structure: as life evolved instincts evolved into emotion. As the primate brain expanded a far greater and more differentiated emotional structure developed. Ego consciousness  combines rational intelligence plus a distinct personality. It is a master coordinator to allow the brain to focus and plan and is the integration of multiple brain functions so that a version of ‘reality', both subjective and objective, can exist. As Self-awareness develops in early humans, they became acutely aware of death. The ego is also the tool for repression of parts of the psyche. Homo sapiens became the world's first repressed creature. The ego, however, is also a vehicle of meaning in a world which possessed no conscious expression up to this time. Homo sapiens is the problematic embodiment of meaning and awareness in an animal. The unconscious. With the emergence of Homo sapiens the ego provided an automatic filter for consciousness which increasingly repressed impulses, instincts, and emotions. Three dimensions of the unconscious are relevant: the psycho-somatic unconscious, the emotional or personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. In the next episode I will continue with the essentials of human nature and focus on higher consciousness and the archetypeof the Self. Finally I will ask what, if any, is the purpose of human nature?

This episode explores the emergence of the Higher Self within the evolution of the hominid species. For example, evidence of care of the sick and dying in the our hominid ancestors over half a million years ago; burial of the dead with symbolic objects over 100 thousand years ago, cave paintings, sculpted earth goddesses and the like from 30 thousand years ago. It is hypothesised that the higher self and even love emerged as a transcendent response to the intense awareness of death, especially in Homo Sapiens.

Details on zoom course on Part 6 of the The Sower and the Seed  direct from thepilgrimquest@gmail.com  or from www.alanmulhern.com Nature, besides being benevolent, is also death-threatening and appears malevolent. Survival demands aggression. Destructiveness and selfishness are vital parts of our animal and therefore human psyche. Our savagery is infamous. Thus, we have the opposites of nature, the good and the terrible, within ourselves. These opposites in our experience of nature, the two faces of the Great Mother, the good and the terrible, are paralleled very closely by the psychoanalytic school of Melanie Klein which postulates (Klein 2003) that all human infants begin life in a paranoid schizoid state in which the good and bad breast alternate as fundamental structuring experiences of the infant psyche. This duality is resolved in the ‘depressive position' which would find its equivalent in the history of the species as the birth of civilization. Freud also postulated that life and civilization emerged and developed out of two polar forces – love and hate.

Having looked at the benevolent and terrible aspects of the Great Mother, and located this duality in the history of our consciousness, I now wish to explore the transition from the Great Mother to the Patriarchy, again understood symbolically and mythologically. Three to six thousand years ago patriarchal religions replaced Great Mother worship. The masculine became opposed to nature, the realm of the feminine, mythologically portrayed in the dragon fight. This is a fundamental shift in human consciousness and prerequisite to the advancement of patriarchal civilization.  

This episode examines the Book of Genesis, the great Judaic creation myth which has been also been fundamental to Christianity. In particular the famous account of the fall and banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden is presented. The Tree of Knowledge and the eating of apple is the movement into consciousness; the banishment from the garden is the expulsion from the primal unity (nature, pre-consciousness, pre-civilization, the unconscious). The Serpent, as Lucifer, is the bringer of the light - the meaning of this name in Latin. This is in accord with Gnostic and Jungian interpretations. Genesis is a myth of the birth of human consciousness.

This episode explores the Book of Genesis, in particular the story of Adam and Eve: their existence in the Garden, the temptation to eat the apple from the Tree of Knowledge, and their banishment. It is interpreted as the movement into consciousness which inevitably is also into an awareness of death. A Gnostic and Jungian interpretation of this foundational myth of Western civilization is given. Human consciousness has indeed taken the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. However, if it is to reach the Tree of Life (the second tree in Eden that is forbidden), the human race in the 21st century will have to pass through the gates of death – either symbolically or literally.

This is the start of miniseries within the Spiritual Crisis of our Time in which I examine Jung's Answer to Job, one of his most enigmatic and fascinating books, written in 1952 and which was clearly of enormous personal importance to him. This episode: # explores Jung's own psychology, especially in his childhood, as a background to this work. # presents Jung's account of his religious and theological struggles in his adolescence. # gives a brief account of the story of Job as presented in the bible. # presents the question that Jung felt he had to answer. This series concerns a metaphysical exploration of nature of evil, the contradictions in the godhead, and the dangers to humanity in our own times.

Jung felt that God called on him personally to realise and experience God's own dark side. And this was the only way that he could experience relief and grace – God's blessing. The inspiration for writing the book was as if  he was composing the work of a Bach or Handel. There are a number of different voices that Jung adopts. He switches between them in a spontaneous intuitive manner in the flow of the text. These include: # The emotional Jung. # The therapist's voice. # The theological perspective. # The mystical voice. # The esoteric voice. # The Jungian psychology perspective.  # The voice of archetypal philosophy. # The historical voice. Jung moves between such different voices with little warning. He is using multiple views and perspectives with great speed and the reader can be left confused Perhaps when one knows the different voices then matters are a little more comprehensible.

Answer to Job has 20 chapters that formed a complex unity in Jung's mind. This episode will summarize the first 10 of these. Themes include: Jung is indignant at the injustice done to Job. The unconscious creator needs conscious humanity so as to develop but, at the same time it opposes this. The incarnation of God into man through Christ is a world-shaking transformation or objectification of God. God needs to become a man. The incarnation is not to make reparation for mankind's sins but to make up for Yahweh's damage to Job (i.e. humanity). Yahweh lacks a feminine side – the lost Sophia. Christ embodies the hero myth. The incarnation of Christ is insufficient to deal with the problem of evil. The belief that God is all good is simply not credible. The God image is a mixture of opposites.

In this episode I cover chapters 11-14 of Answer to Job. Jung argues that the emergence of Christianity was an attempt to create a totally good god. He focuses on the weakest part of the Christian argument, that which most reveals the dark side of god – the Book of Revelation. 

A resume is given of the episodes so far. Responses to the following questions are given: Q. Is God separate from us? Q. How can God be a personality as he mostly appears to be in the bible? Q. If the dualism of good and evil is contained in God then what is the point of the individuation process in human beings? Q. How can God be the archetype of the Self? Q. Jung speaks of the God in different ways in Answer to Job. Is he inconsistent? Q. How is it possible that God can be equated with the unconscious? Q. What does Jung mean by God wants to create man but not quite?

The penultimate episode in this miniseries on Jung's Answer to Job asks the following questions of this text: Q. Why is there no "real" history, sociology, or political science in the Answer to Job and indeed in Jung's work in general? Q. Are there other interpretations of the Answer to Job. Q. How unusual is Jung's interpretation? Q. Jung speaks of God in many ways. Explain further. Q. Does the theory of evolution change all bible studies including the Answer to Job? Q. How can God be the totality and at the same time be a specific component of the unconscious? Q. What impact has Answer to Job had on the practice of Jungian psychotherapy?

In this last episode of this miniseries I give Jung's main argument and its pros and cons. My feelings about the difficulties of the work are as follows: Firstly, relevance. How much can it offer the modern world? Secondly, isolationism -  its removal from the other analytic disciplines. Thirdly, certain inconsistencies which may confuse the reader. Fourthly, contradiction - whether the archetype of the Self is the totality or a specific archetype. Fifthly, the inherent difficulty of the text. Some of its strengths are as follows: 1: Its passion and tremendous personal conviction. 2:  Its roots in childhood experiences (visions, dreams). 3: Answer to Job has extra depth because of the number of esoteric traditions it is linked to. 4: Jung speaks with many voices, as it were out of the depth of many traditions. 5:  The audacity of the text. 6: Jung uses a new voice – that of archetypal psychology combined with mythology  and gnosticism. 7:  Answer to Job reinforces Jung's impact on the practice of psychotherapy. 8: Answer to Job has a deep theological critique of Christian and Judaic civilizations. 9:  Jung insisted on the dangers of an apocalypse in our times. 10: Jung insists on the overarching metaphysical dimension to human existence.

No matter what the crises of the collective the individual has the opportunity of realising the inner light that lies in us all. This episode explores the Taoist text The Secret of the Golden Flower which describes in an extraordinary manner how to access this light through the meditation process. The episode ends with a beautiful song The Turning of the Year by Mark Dunn of The Bringers of Change whose music albums can be found on Spotify etc. and as CDs at www.fallingarecords.com The free meditation programme following the Secret of the Golden Flower starts Jan 23rd. The Quest Lecture series (as distinct from these podcasts) starts Jan.28th. There will be no podcast episode in January. The next one will be Feb.15th 2023.      

This episode continues a miniseries on Jung's observations on oriental textsexploring his comments on The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation unknown to the West until its first publication in 1954. The next episode will examine his comments on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Like other of his commentaries, such as those of the I Ching and the Secret of the Golden Flower, Jung is here aiming at a building a bridge from an unfamiliar Eastern religion, in this case Tibetan Buddhism, to a Western psychology, namely his school of Analytical Psychology. For example he writes: “… the unconscious, for Analytical Psychology, is the matrix mind with the quality of creativity attached to it, the birthplace of all thought forms and akin to the Universal Mind of the Orient. These thought forms or archetypes are omnipresent and timeless ... By means of the transcendent function we not only gain access to the “One Mind” but also come to understand why the East believes in the possibility of self liberation. If, through introspection and the conscious realisation of unconscious compensations, it is possible to transform one's mental conditions and thus arrive at a solution of people's complex, one would seem entitled to speak of self liberation”.

The famous painting of the Tibetan wheel of life is in the grip of the Lord of Death. At its centre are two concentric circles: the outer shows the ascending and descending paths with souls in the death and rebirth cycle; the inner shows three animals, a pig, a snake, and a rooster which symbolise forces within human nature that perpetuate this cycle and are responsible for the suffering in life.   The pig represents ignorance, avidya, which is a basic misrepresentation of reality. The snake represents aggression which in the human species reaches a malignancy unprecedented in the rest of nature. The third is the rooster symbol – lust, desire and insatiable greed. These three are surely responsible for much of the darkness in the human species.   The Tibetan Book of the Dead can be used to guide the dying person through the experiences of consciousness after death, but it is also used during life by those who want to prepare for what will come after death. Liberation from the wheel of rebirth is actually possible in the after-death states or bardos.

El siglo XXI está siendo testigo de la emergencia de numerosas crisis que vienen operando de manera sistémica e interconectada conduciendo a la humanidad a un momento crítico y muy decisivo.  El tema de hoy es, El Momento De La Verdad, que abordaremos en forma breve, en cuatro niveles: colectivo, individual, moral y espiritual. Estamos entrando en la primera Gran Depresión Global. De hecho, muchas economías ya están experimentando un colapso importante a una escala nunca antes vista. Este es nuestro momento de la verdad. Esto es lo que la evolución de la vida y la conciencia en este planeta le ha llevado después de miles de millones de años. A menos que lo recibamos con la verdad, nos enfrentaremos con la puerta en la cara. Libros shorturl.at/jqISY     The Sower and the Seed: Reflections on the Development of Consciousness shorturl.at/xGIR9     La Inteligencia de Sanación: El Espíritu en Psicoterapia Website:                    https://www.alanmulhern.com/

Este podcast propone un modelo simplificado, una suerte de mapa de ruta por la evolución de la crisis económica y financiera mundial. Las etapas de esta crisis son los siguientes: 1 El acercamiento de la tormenta 2 La tormenta llega 3 La respuesta política 4 Depresión económica y caos financiero 5 Gran depresión global 6 Disturbios civiles. Radicalismo político. Peligros de guerra 7 Un mundo radicalmente cambiado Actualmente en mayo de 2020 estamos en la etapa 3. Es decir, la respuesta política Hoy examinaremos la etapa inicial de este modelo: EL ACERCAMIENTO DE LA TORMENTA. “El cisma en el cuerpo social, que hemos estado examinando, es una experiencia colectiva y, por lo tanto, superficial. Su importancia radica en que es el signo externo y visible de una grieta interna y espiritual. Encontraremos un cisma en las almas de los seres humanos que subyace a cualquier cisma que ocurra en la superficie de la sociedad " Arnold Toynbee. A Study of History

La tesis central de esta serie es que el mundo en el siglo XXI enfrenta una crisis multidimensional: política, económica, financiera, militar, climática, tecnológica, espiritual, de salud, social, ideológica. Los llamo los 10 jinetes del apocalipsis por razones que serán con cada episodio más claras. Estos solo pueden entenderse de manera sistémica, es decir, como un sistema de interacción. Por lo tanto, no se puede hablar sobre la situación de pandemia de salud sin referirse a la crisis económica y financiera. Mi intención es explorar todas estas dimensiones y mostrarlas como una crisis interactiva. Su propósito es cambiar completamente la visión del mundo. Puede sacarnos de nuestras preocupaciones subjetivas. También nos ayudará a entender el mundo interior, nuestra propia psique y ayudarnos a encontrar una respuesta visionaria a los problemas de nuestro tiempo y a nuestras crisis personales. En los episodios por venir exploramos respuestas visionarias a estas crisis incluidas las de Carl Gustav Jung, quien desde lo más profundo de su propia psique proporcionó una respuesta a la crisis spiritual de nuestro tiempo.

Recuerdos, Sueños, Pensamientos, el más accesible y popular de los escritos de Jung, sirve de introducción inspiradora al turbulento mundo interior que subyace al exterior burgués de un visionario extraordinario.   Aquí, en esta breve charla, seleccioné aquellos detalles que ilustran mi tesis principal: a saber, que Jung luchó intensamente con sus propias tendencias desintegradoras y tuvo que encontrar una solución creativa para ellas, para él y para el colectivo.   “Los años en que perseguía mis imágenes internas fueron los más importantes de mi vida: en ellos se decidió todo lo esencial. Todo comenzó entonces; los detalles posteriores son solo suplementos y aclaraciones del material que brotó del inconsciente y al principio me inundó. Fue la prima materia para el trabajo de toda la vida ... "    Carl Jung.   Este mini-serie sobre Jung es hecho por el equipo del Quest: el escritor, Alan Mulhern;   la traductora, Maria;   la locutora, Beatriz.

Concentramos en los capítulos 8 y 9 de Recuerdos, Sueños, Pensamientos que cuentan primero, la historia de la construcción de su Torre. El escribe: Nos precipitamos impetuosamente hacia la novedad, impulsados por una creciente sensación de insuficiencia, insatisfacción e inquietud. Ya no vivimos de lo que tenemos, sino de promesas, ya no a la luz del día presente, sino en la oscuridad del futuro, que, esperamos, finalmente traerá el adecuado amanecer. Nos negamos a reconocer que todo lo mejor se compra al precio de algo peor; que, por ejemplo, la esperanza de una mayor libertad se ve cancelada por una mayor esclavitud al Estado, por no hablar de los terribles peligros a los que nos exponen los descubrimientos más brillantes de la ciencia." Y luego,  la historia de sus viajes donde él, por un lado, va buscando un significado fuera de sus propias raíces europeas y, por otro, se encuentra fascinado, pero también atemorizado de ser totalmente absorbido por la cultura indígena. Jung buscó en sí mismo el otro lado de la mente europea y osciló entre una severa crítica del punto de vista europeo y la necesidad de mantenerse en estas raíces porque estaba en peligro de ser engullido, tragado por otras culturas. Su inmersión en ellas tuvo sobre él una tremenda atracción magnética y en consecuencia tuvo que resistirla para mantener su sentido de identidad. Fue capaz de experimentar las dimensiones espirituales de culturas completamente distintas e incorporarlas a la Psicología Analítica, además de ofrecerlas a Occidente para su contemplación.

En este podcast comenzamos a explorar las contribuciones de Jung a la psicoterapia. Examinaremos su visión de la estructura de la psique, su función intencional, sus mecanismos compensatorios y de autoequilibrio, el concepto de complejo, el proceso de individuación a partir de la persona y la sombra. En los siguientes podcasts continuaremos con la exploración de su trabajo. La psicología junguiana continúa creciendo durante el siglo XXI, ya que no solo ofrece un rico conjunto de herramientas para examinar la psique, sino también la conciencia y los métodos para promover su desarrollo e individuación. El pensamiento junguiano instrumenta el acceso a la psique profunda, entra en el tejido vivo de nuestro tiempo, aborda su sentido de alienación y desesperación, y proporciona significado y el camino de transformación no solo a los individuos sino al colectivo.

Este episodio explora aún más la contribución de Jung a la psicoterapia. Esto incluye la Función Trascendente, el enfoque sintético que tipifica la terapia junguiana, y la interpretación junguiana de los sueños. Este episodio termina con un ejemplo de cómo trabajar con el reino arquetípico de una manera junguiana.

La experiencia gnóstica que tan profundamente influyó a Carl Jung está disponible en las profundidades de la psique para toda la humanidad. Este ultimo episodio de Gnosticismo es en parte sobre mi experiencia personal. Me vienen a la mente las palabras de William Blake en su libro El matrimonio del cielo y el infierno que dice lo siguiente: “Si las puertas de la percepción fueran depuradas, todo aparecería a los hombres como realmente es: infinito. Pues el hombre se ha encerrado en sí mismo hasta ver todas las cosas a través de las estrechas rendijas de su caverna.”

El texto de El Secreto de la Flor de Oro dice que “solo a través de la contemplación y la tranquilidad surge la verdadera intuición: por eso el método de retroceso es necesario … al concentrar los pensamientos a través de la circulación de la luz, se puede volar; al concentrar los deseos, uno cae … el cuerpo como la madera seca, el corazón como las cenizas enfriadas". El texto refiere al proceso de circulatio y distillatio, como alquimia, uniendo los opuestos, creando la coniunctio, la unión de los opuestos, el niño divino, la psique transformada. El corazón celestial se eleva a la cumbre de lo creativo, donde se expande en completa libertad. Jung quiere hacer que los oscuros conceptos orientales de El Secreto de la Flor de Oro sean más accesibles e intenta mostrar su similitud con unos conceptos en Occidente, especialmente de su propia escuela de psicología que ofrece una puente de comprensión entre Occidente y Oriente “El centro de gravedad de la personalidad cambia su posición. Deja de ser el ego, que es simplemente el centro de la conciencia, y, en su lugar, se ubica lo que podría llamarse un punto virtual entre lo consciente y lo inconsciente. Este nuevo centro podría llamarse el “Self”. El Flor de Oro en sí es un símbolo de la mandala. Jung comenta: “La integración y el nacimiento de esta personalidad superior es el logro que se pretende en El Secreto de la Flor de Oro cuando habla del “fruto sagrado”, el “cuerpo de diamante”, o de cualquier otro tipo de cuerpo indestructible, es decir, invulnerable a los enredos emocionales y los trastornos violentos; en una palabra, simbolizan una conciencia liberada del mundo”.  

Dos poderosas corrientes de alquimia provinieron del antiguo Egipto y Babilonia por un lado y de Persa y la España islámica por el otro. Estos se unieron en el florecimiento de la alquimia en la Europa de la Edad Media. Después de la iluminación científica, la alquimia prácticamente desapareció. Carl Jung jugó un papel importante en el re descubrimiento de la alquimia. Fue llamado a este trabajo por su propio mundo de sueños, y pasó muchas décadas de investigación explorándolo hasta que descifró su significado psicológico y espiritual. Incluso descubrió que las imágenes alquímicas se parecían tanto a las de los sueños de sus pacientes como a las de él mismo. El trabajo alquímico se convirtió en el marco para su descubrimiento del proceso de individuación, tan central en la psicoterapia que ofrecía al mundo.

En este episodio vamos a: # Explorar la propia psicología de Jung, especialmente en su infancia, como trasfondo del texto Respuesta a Job. # Presentar el relato de Jung sobre sus luchas religiosas e incluso teológicas en su juventud. # Dar un breve relato de la historia de Job como se presenta en la biblia. # Presentar la pregunta planteada por esta historia bíblica que Jung sintió que tenía que responder.

En opinión de Jung, Yahvé, a pesar de toda su superioridad, no es consciente de los opuestos en sí mismo, pero Job sí lo es. Yahvé está obligado a cambiar y desarrollarse como resultado de su confrontación con Job. Así, Dios o el inconsciente necesitan de la conciencia para realizarse. Esto le da a la conciencia humana una inmensa importancia en el gran esquema de las cosas. En Respuesta a Job, Jung adopta voces diferentes. Éstas incluyen: El Jung emocional; La voz del terapeuta - ¡Jung psicoanaliza a Yahvé!; La perspectiva teológica - especulaciones altamente metafísicas y teológicas; La voz mística- por ejemplo, que Dios necesite al hombre para hacerse más consciente; La voz esotérica - se mueve hacia las creencias esotéricas gnósticas y cabalísticas; La perspectiva de la psicología junguiana; La voz de la filosofía arquetípica; La voz histórica. Jung se mueve entre las diversas voces con gran velocidad. Quizás si uno conociera las diferentes perspectivas, entonces este texto sería más comprensible.  

En el ultimo episodio presentamos la experiencia de Jung en su juventud con el inconsciente, que más tarde lo predispuso a identificarse tan profundamente con Job. Experimentó el “otro lado de la psique”, el lado oscuro de Dios. Esto fue como un trauma infligido por Dios pero también fue la fuente de su gracia. En este episodio cubrimos los primeros 10 capítulos de Respuesta a Job que incluye: Primero: La naturaleza contradictoria de la personalidad de Yahvé. Segundo: El tema de que Dios necesita el hombre. Tercero: Lo que le falta a Yahweh es un lado femenino. Cuarto: Jung busca la encarnación de Dios a través de Cristo, el dios-hombre. Esto resultó del daño hecho a Job por Yahweh. Cristo seriá perfecto. Satanás tendriá que dejar el cielo y ser arrojado a la tierra. Dios tendriá que entrar en la humanidad. Quinto: El mal todavía prevalece en la tierra. Sexto: La creencia de que Dios es todo bueno simplemente no es creíble. Septimo: La imagen de Dios es una mezcla de opuestos.

Dios quiere entrar en la humanidad pero este es un proceso contradictorio porque trae consigo su lado oscuro a pesar de todos los esfuerzos de la humanidad por limpiar su imagen y convertirlo en el dios de la justicia y el amor. Jung da más evidencia de un dios iracundo y destructivo de las visiones apocalípticas de Ezequiel, Daniel y Enoc del Antiguo Testamento, y el Libro de Revelaciones, el ultimo del Nuevo Testamento. Las contradicciones de Yahweh son responsables no solo de la creación del mundo sino del destino de la humanidad que debe vivir estas contradicciones de la deidad.

Jung había vivido las guerras del siglo XX y fue testigo del inmenso impacto de Hitler en las civilizaciónes alemana y europea. Se dio cuenta muy claramente, que con la realidad de la bomba nuclear, la humanidad ahora tenía los medios para la autodestrucción. Para él este era un escenario apocalíptico,  el lado oscuro de Dios expresado a través de la psique humana. En última instancia, Dios no es un ser separado, sino que es la realidad misma y, por lo tanto, también es la humanidad.

En este episodio queremos responder a las siguientes preguntas ¿Por qué no hay historia 'real' , sociología o ciencia política en el libro? ¿Qué explicación histórica podría ofrecerse para la literatura apocalíptica? ¿Por qué la interpretación de Jung es atípica? Como La teoría de la evolución cambia todos los estudios bíblicos, incluido la Respuesta a Job. ¿Cómo puede Dios ser la totalidad y al mismo tiempo ser un componente específico del inconsciente? Además, en el episodio de hoy contamos un sueño notable que Jung tuvo en 1920 en su visita al norte de África. Su interpretación del sueño es fascinante e ilustra material importante en la Respuesta a Job.

Este es el episodio final de la miniserie sobre la Respuesta  a Job de Carl Jung. Aqui presento un resumen de su argumento  y doy dos ejemplos de la relevancia para el mundo moderno. En primer lugar, su temor de un apocalipsis moderno. Sin embargo, el vio la posibilidad de un proceso de individuación al traer esto a la conciencia. En segundo lugar, la relación de este texto con la práctica actual del análisis junguiano.

Este episodio continúa una miniserie sobre las observaciones de Jung sobre textos orientales y explora sus comentarios sobre El Libro tibetano de la Gran Liberación, desconocido para Occidente hasta su primera publicación en 1954. El próximo episodio examinará sus comentarios sobre el Libro tibetano de los muertos. Al igual que otros de sus comentarios, como los del I Ching y El Secreto de la Flor de Oro, aquí Jung pretende construir un puente desde el budismo tibetano a su escuela de Psicología Analítica. Por ejemplo escribe: “… el inconsciente es la mente matriz con la cualidad de la creatividad adjunta, el lugar de nacimiento de todas las formas de pensamiento y similar a la Mente Universal de Oriente. Estas formas de pensamiento o arquetipos son omnipresentes y atemporales ... Por medio de la función trascendente no solo ganamos acceso a la Mente Universal sino que también llegamos a comprender porqué Oriente cree en la posibilidad de la autoliberación.”

An overview of The Crisis of our Times  series is provided; the ingredients of civilizational collapse are presented; future podcasts are indicated; the complexities of multidimesional crises are mentioned; a parable is given but the answer is not provided.

En este episodio se describen los siguientes puntos de la psicología junguiana: La relación entre el terapeuta y el paciente. La importancia relativa no absoluta de la transferencia. Imaginación activa: la relación directa y creativa con figuras del inconsciente. Terminología esotérica junguiana y tradiciones de sabiduría: Opus, Telos, Nigredo, Hierosgamos, Coniunctio oppositorum, Enantiodrama, Entelechy. Una interpretación psicológica de amplio espectro de la mitología. La importancia de la sincronicidad. Arquetipos, ritos de paso, rituales, técnicas ancestrales.